1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a radial and thrust bearing assembly, more specifically to a roller radial and ball thrust bearing assembly that includes a labyrinth seal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an early design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,827, patented Mar. 11, 1919 by L. W. Lyons and J. Wills, a radial roller bearing which uses load carrying rollers that are spaced apart by smaller rollers instead of by cage means, incorporates a pair of concentric, easily replaceable, tubular metal sleeves for inner and outer races. Roller limiting collars axially abut the inner race on each side of the raceway. Each collar includes a flange which projects radially beyond the inner surface of the sleeve to form an endwise limiting means for the rollers. Radially disposed, parallel, planar housing collars or washers, locate at their outer peripheries against annular shoulders on the outer race. At their inner peripheries, the washers closely approach the roller limiting collars adjacent to the outer surface of the flanges, without forcibly touching or having any frictional contact with the collar or flanges. Set screws through the outer race, bear on the outer periphery of each washer to hold it in place. Mounted on the bearing shaft, held in place by split ring, shoulder, or other means, are end members of a pair of ball thrust bearings. The balls run between raceways located on the end members and on the outer surfaces of the washers.
This arrangement provides a combination radial and thrust bearing with closely sealing ends.
In another combination roller radial and ball thrust bearing, disclosed by W. W. Murphy in U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,359 patented Feb. 2, 1965, an enlarged portion of a shaft forms an inner race for the radial bearing. A sheet metal collar which includes the outer race for the radial bearing, includes inwardly turned, radially disposed, flanges. Caged rollers, which ride on the enlarged portion of the shaft, are axially contained by the inner faces of thrust collars located on the shaft at each end of the inner race. The thrust collars rest against, and extend above, annular shoulders formed at each end of the race by the difference between the major diameter of the race and the outer diameter of the shaft. The outer faces of the thrust collars and the inner faces of the radially disposed flanges include races for caged balls, establishing thrust bearings which resist axial movement in both directions, of the shaft with respect to the collar.
A resiliently mounted combination radial and axial thrust bearing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,977, patented Aug. 29, 1978, by Gerard Staphan. The bearing holds a rotating shaft within a bore by way of insertion of the outer race, within a resilient sleeve of elastomeric material that lines the bore. The outer race of the radial bearing, extending the width of the bearing rollers, abuts axially at one end by means of an inwardly turned radially oriented annular wall, against a shoulder in the resilient sleeve. The other end of the cylindrical sleeve portion of the outer race extends free of contact with the elastomer, into an annular cavity within the resilient sleeve. The inner race of the radial bearing extends from a position under the wall, where it abuts axially against a shoulder on the shaft, to a position beyond the width of the rollers, and ends with an outwardly turned radially oriented wall. The inner surface of the outwardly turned wall includes a race for a thrust bearing. The other race for the thrust bearing is provided by a radially oriented annular wall which axially abuts the free end of the outer race, and which is held in place against the resilient sleeve by an outwardly turned axially oriented cylindrical flange.